Us
by Z. Alexander
Summary: –It’s easy for best friends to be in love.– Gift fic/challenge fic; Liana/Alexa fluff, as promised.


This has a very good explanation, I swear. I _swear. _See, my girlfriend and I have a friend whose younger sister is absolutely obsessed with the Barbie franchise. Very long story short, she roped us into watching _Barbie and the Diamond Castle. _It was a little bit shudder-inducing, but I didn't want to tell a six-year-old kid that. Instead, I told her I liked Alexa. Alice, the dear, immediately jumped in and said she liked Liana. The little girl nodded and said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "That's because they're girlfriend best friends like you are." (Keep in mind that she only vaguely knows what 'girlfriend' means when someone says it.)

Of course, that prompted her older sister to tell me she wants to see me try to write a fic for that fandom. She said if I could actually pull off something fluffy and have the guts to post it here, she'd admit there is a god and her name is Zheyne. She obviously doesn't know that it's almost impossible to embarrass me and anyway, how can I pass up partial godhood? Would _you?_

PS: Reviews are not expected. This is merely to prove a point: there is a god and her name is Zheyne. Or, you know, not.

**Once upon a time,** there lived a girl named Zheyne who didn't own _Barbie and the Diamond Castle _or anything connected to the Barbie franchise. I'm _pretty sure _that's a good thing.

* * *

It isn't very long after they return from the Diamond Castle that Liana notices something strange about Alexa. She can't put her finger on it; there isn't a physical change, and she isn't acting any differently. It's just…_something._

Maybe it's something in the way she sings. They've always been in sync with each other, guessing at each other's lyrics and harmonizing without realizing it, but now Liana feels almost…

Well, there isn't a name for what she feels. At least, she can't give it a name, because the only words that pop into her head are horrible words like _ugly _and _inadequate _and _worthless. _So she can't give it a name, because Alexa has only ever made her feel special. Except for the fiasco at the mansion, but maybe – maybe that's where it all started.

Yes, exactly. It all started when they had their first fight and they _parted ways. _That was a really stupid idea, and Liana knew it as soon as she turned her back. She hadn't even taken a step and she knew, but she continued. It because Melody needed them, and Alexa didn't want to help.

Well, that's not fair. Melody played a big part, sure. But after their very first argument, Liana had felt so…angry. Angry at her best friend, for not understanding. Alexa had always finished her sentences and given her that special smile that made her feel safe – she _always _knew Alexa had her back – and then suddenly, it wasn't like that and Liana wanted to…maybe teach a lesson. A stupid lesson she hadn't understood herself. A lesson she really had no right to teach.

Because not one minute into her solo journey, it was her greatest wish to just turn back and make up. This other feeling, a vengeful one, wouldn't let her do it though. And that _was – _that _was _when it started. The change. Alexa still makes her feel special, and happy, and all the nice things that were there before.

But just not always, any more.

"Liana!" She hears her best friend's voice, and she feels something tug deep inside, in a place she can't reach and can't name. She can't do a _lot _of things, lately, it seems.

"I'm inside!" Making lunch. Bread and jam – they have lots of other things in their cupboards, now, but it reminds Liana of the time before everything turned on its head. She _likes _bread and jam, anyway, as long as she _has _other options. And so does Alexa. After all, they share everything, even tastes.

She's not surprised in the least when Alexa comes storming in – she can be what others might call obnoxiously loud, even if Liana thinks it's charming – but she _is _surprised by what comes next.

She's too surprised to do much but feel relieved, actually, even if she doesn't know why.

* * *

Alexa is a fairly simple girl. She likes jam and bread_ just_ a little less than she likes mashed potatoes, after all, and she'd really much rather sell flowers than live in a castle, even _the _Diamond Castle, where Melody and the Muses live. She likes that fancy dress she has, but mostly she just likes her plainer clothes. They're more comfortable.

And she likes Liana, of course. She can be practical, she can be whimsical, but most of all she can be musical, and Alexa likes music. She thinks maybe Liana would rather be back at the castle – and sometimes she wonders if Liana thinks about Melody, wonders if Liana would leave her again if Melody asked her to.

Alexa doesn't like thinking like that, because the feeling she had when Liana left her for the first time in the mansion was nothing short of terrible. She felt angry and hurt and betrayed and for one wild minute, she tried to think of a life of lavish comfort _without _Liana.

It didn't work very well. And then she was captured, and the only thought in her mind was: _at least Liana's okay._

She finds herself thinking about that more and more often lately. She knows something has changed – Liana spends less time singing and more time listening, as if she's lost her voice or her will to sing. But that would be silly; Liana is her counter-melody, so she knows that for Liana, losing the will to sing is like losing the will to live. It's the same for Alexa, after all.

So she wonders if a different kind of Melody has captured Liana's attention once again, and she's jealous. Liana has always been her best friend, and besides, Alexa sings better than the flautist anyway. (It's not arrogant if it's true, as she constantly reminds herself. She can't play a flute at all, so she'll let Melody have that one.)

It doesn't take long, when she _truly _thinks about it, to figure out the reason she's jealous. It's because she doesn't want to lose her counter-melody. She doesn't want to lose Liana. They share everything, even songs, and to lose Liana would be to lose half of herself. She wouldn't know what to do with herself.

Despite being a simple girl, Alexa is not simple-minded. As she's kneeling in the garden over a new kind of blossom, she realizes this is the first time she's wanted to be honest with herself, and when she lets all this thinking really sink in, she knows there's only one answer.

She knows Liana probably doesn't get it yet. Liana thinks with her heart most of the time, and the heart is usually irritatingly vague (though she wouldn't give hers up no matter what). But suddenly _Alexa _gets it and by golly, she's going to do something about it.

"Liana!"

"I'm inside!"

She's probably making lunch. She always has been the more domestic of the two, though Alexa's not bad. She's a girl on a mission now, so she storms into the house, pulls Liana around, and kisses her.

It's not very amazing, at first. Liana's eyes are wide, and Alexa only _just _missed her mouth, so it's not very graceful and if one were to walk in, they'd probably laugh. But Alexa isn't embarrassed at all, and when Liana hugs her and connects their lips _properly, _it's different.

Her heart is pounding, just a little, and she feels something like relief. The part after only a moment – neither of them really knows how to kiss someone – and Alexa, stepping back slightly, looks into Liana's eyes and says plainly, "I love you."

Liana, surprisingly, doesn't look fazed at all, even though she sounds a little dazed. "Good," she says. "I'm pretty sure I love you too."

_Then _the confusion comes. Alexa isn't surprised at _all. _She knows Liana; they share everything, even feelings, and confusion is one of those feelings – even if, for Alexa, it's dimmed. But Liana doesn't ask questions. At least, not about that.

Instead, she gently pushes Alexa into a chair and asks, "Now, what shall it be? Bread and jam, or jam and bread?"

Things have changed. They're big things neither of them understands yet, and they're kind of frightening. But other things will never change. They'll always be best friends and really, that's all there is to it.


End file.
